Racking or slamming an empty 1911 slide

[Shadowrider]

Apparently so.



Ease up @EKing, nobody is badmouthing or trash talking anybody; this is simply a discussion. But, sir, you do seem to be guilty of exactly what you said above; if someone disagrees with you, you get hot about it? Come on, this is just a discussion. Let's just discuss, maybe all of us can gain something from it

I was always taught not to let the slide slam home on an empty chamber, when speaking about the 1911 platform. I was also taught to run the slide on a 1911 by hand when dry firing rather than just cocking the hammer and then pulling the trigger. Now; if you want to do other wise, by all means, be my guest. But again; this is just a discussion; there's no need to turn it into an argument. If you have something other than your expert opinion on doing it differently, like a substantial link from a noted gunsmith, please share it with us. I'll start by sharing a link to a guy's thoughts on this who has a bit more experience than me:

https://www.10-8performance.com/pages/1911-User's-Guide.html

In the link above, Hilton Yam, a well-known authority on the 1911 says this:
"...Always ease the slide down on an empty chamber, never slam it shut from slide lock. A G.I. rack grade 1911 may do fine when you slam the slide on the empty chamber, but a gun with a tuned trigger and fitted barrel will do better without it. The jarring of the slide slamming down on an empty chamber can cause the hammer to follow and the sear nose to crash into the hammer hooks. Your trigger job will last longer if you ease the slide down. Further, the lower lugs on a match fit barrel take a lot of impact when they contact the slide stop, and without the buffering effect of the round feeding into the chamber, you increase wear on your barrel by slamming the slide on an empty chamber. It's not the end of the world if the slide drops on an empty chamber, but it's not a good habit to develop either. It is the sign of an amateur 1911 handler.


Thumb cocking the hammer can sometimes result in the hammer slipping out from under the thumb and falling to half cock. Some hammers are designed with a half cock notch that protects the sear nose, but many do not. Excessive crashing of the sear nose into the half cock notch will degrade your trigger job"...

Not good enough? Try this one from sightm1911.com:
http://sightm1911.com/lib/tech/drop_slide_empty.htm

To quote from this link: "

... "dropping the slide on an empty chamber with a 1911 style pistol can damage a quality trigger job, and therefore the slide should be eased forward. Two questions: (A) Why does it do that? (Or maybe HOW does it do that?) and, (B) Why doesn’t it do it if there is a round in the chamber?

It does it because when the slide slams home on an empty chamber it jolts the entire gun, bouncing the sear engagement point on the hammer face, which is the area that you just paid to have polished to a mirror surface. When the gun is picking up a cartridge (loading from the magazine) the slide is slowed considerably and this reduces the impact and thus reduces the jarring effect on the hammer/sear interface"...

So maybe on a stock gun, with a stock trigger, it won 't cause any real issue, but I for one, see NO REASON to take a chance and possibly damage my sear/hammer or any other parts and I certainly do not want to show signs of being an amateur. Why? Because I am not.

Now there ya go. Posting facts and stuff.

Also for the naysayers, go ahead and keep dropping that slide on that MIM slide stop. At some point you'll regret it. Especially if you egg the holes in your frame being that pin is what keeps the slide on the gun and all...

 

[Jcann]

I guess going from a factory recoil spring to an after market spring of 2 or more pounds heaver is just fine as long as it's done while stripping a round from the mag. When I jumped from 14 to 18 pounds my 1911 should have s*#t the bed and the sear turned to metal shavings.
Heck, maybe I've got a boat anchor now and just don't know it.

 

[druryj]

I’m really not that old although you couldn’t tell by looking at me

Rode hard and put away wet?


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[druryj]

"Old timers with 2# triggers on soft sears" Y'know, they have pills for that nowadays.

Link?


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[RLSanders]

I hope those guys with the 3/4 lb trigger pull custom 1911's never run a mag until its dry and allow the slide to slam shut on an empty chamber. Gonna ruin those guns.........lol....

I just noticed this. The Wilson and Hackathorne guys said 3 to 3 and 3/4 lb triggers. A 3/4 lb trigger would be scary. Super scary.

 

[RLSanders]

But it was made by Umarex, the BB Gun guys.


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If it’s like my Walther 1911 .22 LR, it wasn’t made by Umarex. It was imported and distributed by Umarex and made in Germany by Walther Arms. I’ve had a couple of people tell me that my gun was made by a paintball gun company, implying it was inferior or junk because so. I think it’s a misconception. At the range a while back a guy came over to look at it. He thought I should come see a better .22. So he took me to his stall/bay and showed me his Beretta. He showed me his groupings, which were much better than mine, and told me I wasn’t just resting the gun on the palm of my left hand like I should.

Also, I did say “clip.” Not because the 1911 magazine was once referred to as a clip, but because I’m a dummy. I’m learning.

From what I’ve gathered in this thread, if you have a beater, inexpensive, 1911, slam it dry if you want. If you have a nice one, especially one with a trigger job, don’t chance it. If you’re handling someone else’s gun, don’t do it. If you wanna prevent any chance of damaging your gun by doing it, regardless of value, don’t do it. That’s gonna be my opinion anyway.

Really appreciate y’all’s help, advice and knowledge.

 

[bigred1]

I just noticed this. The Wilson and Hackathorne guys said 3 to 3 and 3/4 lb triggers. A 3/4 lb trigger would be scary. Super scary.

3 and 3/4 lb triggers = 3 3/4 lbs or just shy of 4lbs

 

[Snattlerake]

From what I’ve gathered in this thread, if you have a beater, inexpensive, 1911, slam it dry if you want. If you have a nice one, especially one with a trigger job, don’t chance it. If you’re handling someone else’s gun, don’t do it. If you wanna prevent any chance of damaging your gun, regardless of value, don’t do it. That’s gonna be my opinion anyway.

Really appreciate y’all’s help, advice and knowledge.

DING DING DING DING DING! We have a winner!

I haven't had the opportunity to review any of the other threads mentioned discussing this dilemma but I will bet ya a cup of coffee they all ended with this revelation.

 

[Hangfire]

@RLSanders I can normally tell what the person means so it doesn't bother me in the least but I know some folks really get their bloomers in a bunch if a magazine is referred to as a clip or vise versa.

I'm sure everyone here knows the difference but just in case.......

 

[Gunbuffer]

Rode hard and put away wet?


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More like, “what don’t kill ya makes you ugly and decrepit”